A genius with the flu
by Allonz-y27
Summary: Reid has caught the flu. Will he be well enough to work when there is a child to be saved? Or will he push himself over the edge with disastrous consequences?
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my first ever fanfiction. Criminal Minds all the way!**

**All mistakes are my own**

**DISCLAIMER****: I do not own Criminal Minds. Just borrowing it.**

**Some mild course language and violence to come in later.**

**I know it's not long but I didn't want to write heaps if no one likes it.**

**Please enjoy...**

Reid woke to a horrible pounding in his head and overwhelming nausea. He threw back his comforter and rushed to the bathroom, emptying last nights dinner from his stomach and into the toilet. After a couple of minuets the dry heaving stopped and he sat back against the cold tiled wall.

Maybe he should take the day off. He didn't usually condone taking time off work, in-fact in his whole time working at the BAU he had only taken 4 days off; and that was because Hotch had practically made it a direct order. But then again he was feeling utterly miserable and the team hadn't had a case for almost a week now so they had been catching up on paperwork, which of course he was almost finished with. One day off shouldn't hurt, he reasoned with himself. It would give Morgan a chance to catch up with him, even if it did mean Morgan would be slipping half of his files into Reid's pile.

It was almost 7 O'clock and time to get ready for work, so he had to make a decision soon. He was still thinking about his predicament when his phone started to ring.

Pushing himself off the bathroom floor where he still sat, he slowly made his way to his phone, catching it just before it when to voice mail.

"Spencer Reid" he answer quietly, his throat still sore from his early morning retching. "Reid, it's Hotch. We have a case involving children, get to work asap." Replied Hotches stoic voice through the phone, before swiftly hanging up without even a word of good-bye.

Well, that made his decision much easier. It was just his luck that there would be a case on the one day he felt like crap; but still there was no way Reid was going to be laying on the couch all day moping when there were people to save and unsubs to take down especially when there were children involved, no matter how crap like he felt. Resolved, he made his way into the bathroom in hopes to make himself look slightly more presentable. He then took some more Tylenol before stuffing the rest of the packet into his satchel, hoisting its brown leather strap over his shoulder he made his way to work.

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The Tylenol had already kick in by the time Reid made it to the office much to Reid's delight.

"Rough night Pretty Boy?" Morgan mockingly asked taking in Reid's haggard appearance as he sat down at his desk. Thankfully though after a half hearted glare in Morgans general direction and a mumble that may or may not have sounded very much like "Shut up" he said no more. "Here" came a soft voice behind him. He turned to see Emily holding out a coffee cup that was distinctly from the popular cafe' down town. "I thought everyone might enjoy some proper coffee today with this case and all." she continued with a small smile as he gratefully took the cup from her hands and flashed her a smile of his own. He wasn't sure if his stomach would appreciate the extra sweet caffeinated beverage but it was a necessity if he was going to be awake enough to concentrate in the briefing that was sure to occur shortly. Luckily it didn't seem to revolt as much as he first thought it would.

Right at that moment Hotch walked out of his office carrying a handful of files with JJ by his side. Hotch waved the files in the air slightly to signify that the meeting was about to commence.

Everyone made there way into the conference room. JJ handed out a case file to everyone as they sat down.

"Sophie Tulle, aged five " Hotch started as be pinned a picture of the young girl on the bored, "Taken from her front yard two weeks ago, found last week next to the local swimming pool, drowned."

"Becky Gribbel, four and a half" He continues, placing her picture next to Sophie's. "Taken from the park the same day as Sophie's body was found. She was discovered early this morning by a river, also drowned. And the latest victim, Abigail Weeks just turned six, taken from the shopping centre an hour ago." Pinning the final image on the board. The three young girls looked almost identical, All with shoulder length dark brown hair and deep green eyes and the same innocent smile.

"The unsub is targeting young girls between the ages of four and six with similar features. No signs or rape, so this isn't sexually motivated."

"The way the bodies are positioned indicate the unsub feels remorse." Morgan added, indicated to the pictures of the girls bodies in the file.

"The unsub kills the victim a week after they are taken, so Abigail has 6 day. We need to work fast! We will start the profile one were in the air. Grab your go bags, wheels up in 20" Hotch said in a way that declared the current meeting had come to an end, before swiftly exiting the room.

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Exactly 20 minuets later Reid was the last of the team to board the jet. His head ache and nausea had started to return as the Tylenol began to wear off.

He would just have to suck it up; there was a job to be done...

**I would love it if you could review please. good bad or indifferent. I would love to know if I should continue or not. Thanks**


	2. Chapter 2

**THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED, FAVOURITED AND FOLLOWED MY STORY! It made me so happy! Your feed back was all so positive! Thanks again :D**

**DISCLAIMER****: I still don't own Criminal Minds**

**All mistakes are my own**

**Also I forgot to mention that I am not American and all my knowledge of America comes from fanfiction and tv shows, so be kind if I get something wrong. And I am by no means a profiler so it should go without saying that the profile in the story isn't accurate.**

**Again I'm sorry but this chapter isn't very long, the next one will hopefully be longer.**

**Anyway on with the story...**

**Chapter 2.**

Once the planed levelled out, the profiling began. "Okay so lets go over what we already know. The Unsub victims are young girls between the ages of 4 and 6 with shoulder length brown hair and dark green eyes. The Unsub kidnaps his victim and keeps them for exactly one week before drowning them and then dumping there bodies next to a water source like a pool or river. There are no sings of physical or sexual assault, and the bodies are placed in a way that shows the unsub is remorseful." Hotch stared.

"The unsubs MO is drowning, this suggests that the unsub is most likely male. He never drowns the victims where they are found, but at a different location." Rossi added, flipping through some of the information in the file.

The entire team started throwing ideas and concepts around in an attempt to build on there profile.

All except for Reid, who was sitting on the couch staring intensely at the open case file in his lap as if reading it, but he wasn't. His head was absolutely killing him and the slight turbulence from the plane was making him feel extremely nauseous. He swallowed thickly in an attempt to keep the vile stomach acid that kept threatening to escape at bay. And on top of that he was pretty sure that he was starting to get a low grade fever, even in the air-conditioned jet he felt clammy in his usual sweater vest. He desperately wanted to take it of and if he thought it was possible to take it off without drawing to much attention to himself and the fact that he was unwell he would have, but there was no way. He would just have to suffer, so instead he discreetly took a another dose of Tylenol before trying to refocus his attention on the important conversation going on around him.

"Its likely that he is usually known to be kind and out going to others and hard working in his job. But since he has started kidnapping he will have become slightly more withdrawn and quieter than usual." Hotch was saying, "Anything to add Reid?"

"Reid?" Morgan prompted when it appeared that he hadn't heard Hotch.

It took him a moment to actually register that they were in fact talking to him, and another moment to gather and make sense of the thoughts in his aching head."Oh right, um. It is likely that he will live alone, it would be hard to keep these girls if there was other occupants in the house. He will have a normal 9-5 job, which won't be effected by the kidnappings, he will try and keep to his routine. He will fit into everyday life and will show no reasons for suspicion." he supplied.

The teams discussions continued with out Reid who had all but zoned out again, choosing to stare with unfocused eyes at the already memorised file that still sat in his lap. The next time Reid dragged his attention back to the team, it seemed that they were almost finished profiling the unsub.

"Okay, so the unsub were looking for is male, early to mid 20's, he fits in to the crowd and is usually friendly, he has recently become withdrawn, he works a normal job and he won't miss work because of the kidnapping. It is likely that a young family member, most likely a daughter was drowned recently, which acted as the trigger. He feels guilt over his daughters death, he feels it was his fault. He also feels remorse over killing his victims but not enough to stop. He is kidnapping these girls as a way to replace his daughter, but in one way or another they don't fit, so he kills them and tries again. But there is no replacement, so he will continue this until he is caught." Rossi rephrased the profile that they had built.

"Garcia look into drowning cases in the last month or so with girls who fit the victimology." Hotch said addressing the laptop which held a video chat with the bubbly blond technical analysis.

"Yes Bossman, on it right now. Garcia out!" She replied before disconnecting from the chat.

"Alright everyone, when we land we will split up. Morgan, you and Prentiss can go to latest victims house and talk to her parents, then go to the coroners and find out anything useful about the bodies. I will go to the other two victims and Rossi you can check out the dumping sites. Reid and JJ, you can go straight to the Police Department. Reid you get a start on the geographical profiling get Garcia to sent you everything she finds. JJ, you can start talking to the place about heading up and press release. We will meet back at the Police department when were done to shear our findings." Hotch stated

With the profile build, general and significantly lighter conversation picked up throughout the plane.

JJ cane and sat next to Reid on the couch. "Hey, are you feeling okay?" she asked with a soft tone that held almost a motherly like affection and concern. "I'm Fine" He replied an unconvincing manner. "You sure? You seemed very quiet." she inquired, reaching forward with her hand as if to feel his forehead. Reid all but jumped out of reach of her caring hand and excused himself to the bathroom.

He was glad when he arrived at the bathroom situated at the back of the plane, the sudden change in altitude when he stood up had made him feel light headed and even more nauseas. He steadied himself with one hand on the sink. They would be landing soon so he splashed some cold water over his face and returned to his seat. Hoping he would be able to ride out the flu long enough to save the little girl.

**Again I would love it if you would review my story. I should be updating soon-ish! I hope you enjoyed it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Thanks again for the kind reviews.**

**I'm sorry that I took longer to post this chapter, ironically I caught the flu and my brain has been like mashed potatoes for a couple of days. I read over some of what I wrote while I was sick and it made no sense at all. Pay back for how badly I'm treating the loverly Dr Reid I assume. I made this chapter the longest so far to try and redeem myself. Anyways enough rambling, on with the story.**

**DISCLAIMER: Criminal Minds is not mine., but all**** mistakes are.**

**Chapter 3.**

Reid spent the first 2 and a half hours after arrival working on the geographical profile. He would have normally been able to finish much quicker, but having the flu had considerably slowed his process. It is not easy to do complicated mathematics in your brain when your head feels like it is going to explode any minuet now, even when you are a genius. He had also become so hot that he had even ended up removing his sweater vest because he almost fainted when he stood up to quickly in excitement when something in his mind just clicked, making sense of the numbers. But finally he was able to narrow down the unsubs comfort zone. After that he had taken to sifting through all the files that Garcia had sent him, sorting through which of the fathers fit the profiles. This was also taken longer than usual but he had managed to maintain his focus on the case, usually with a quick glance at the picture of the latest kidnapping victim, Abigail Weeks. She was the reason they were here, to save this little girls life. He would continue working this case until they bought her safely home to her parents.

A couple of hours later and everyone was back from there respective job and meeting in a conference room situated at the back of the local Police Department.

"Using the Geographical Profile I was able to determined that the unsub works and resides in the centre of town. Because it's probable that the kidnappings are pre-meditated, he would need to be keeping an eye out for his next victim. I have narrowed down his possible places of employment to only two places where he would have the best opportunities to watch for potential victims that also cross referenced with the daily schedules of the three he's kidnapped so far. The Mechanics or the " Reid stated once everyone was comfortably seated. "With this I was able to narrow down the likely suspects form the list Garcia gave me. These about eight or so names left."

"The coroners said that the water in the lungs from the two victims were the same, it appears to be from a salt water swimming pool, which indicated that they were drowned in someones back yard pool." Morgan informed the team, "This should help us narrow it down some more."

"We didn't find anything of interest with the latest victims house. Mrs Weeks said that she had only turned her back for a minuet while she was on the phone to her sister when Abigail was taken, she didn't see anyone acting suspicious before or after the abduction. I asked one of the police officers about any security tapes at the shopping centre but apparently they are faulty and the owners haven't had a chance to replace them yet." Prentiss added.

"The first two victims families had similar stories. Mr Tulle had gone inside to get a coffee, leaving Sophie to play in the front yard. He said he was back in a few minuets and there was no sign of her. The next door neighbours didn't see anything either. Mr and Mrs Gribble had let Becky run ahead and play on the swings at the park while they got her baby brother out of his car seat, by the time they got to the park she was gone." Hotch said.

"I was able to get some information from the dumping sites that will be able to help us with the profile." Rossi informed the team, "The unsubs..."

Reid felt himself zoning out again. He knew he should have tried to focus, but his head just wouldn't stop pounding and he was sure that the light in this small conference room were the brightest he had ever seen. He was tired, he was sore and he felt down right awful and he had all but made it through the day with full focus, in his personal opinion him zoning out would not effect the progress of this case. The team was just going over the eight names he had left on the list from Garcia. With the new information they had they should be able to narrow it down further, the team was fine. With this though Reid let his focus blur and his concentration falter.

As he zoned out he missed the slightly concerned and questioning looks each member of the team sent him and sheared with each other while they continued to talk. It was clear to the team that Reid was not himself as of late. They had immediately noticed when they got back that Reid had taken off his sweater vest, something that was almost unheard off, especially since it wasn't any warmer than usual. He was looking exceptionally tired and somewhat flushed. But the most obvious thing that something was wrong; not once this case had Reid sprouted off random bits of information.

It was clear that he was sick, and they silently decided that they would confront him tomorrow about it. For now they were at work, and this case was important. After some discussion the team was able to narrow down the profile which left only three names. Time to call in the big guns.

"Oracle of Quantico. How can my supreme intelligence be of assistance?" Garcia answered in her usual bubbly way.

"Hey Baby Girl." Morgan answered in his flirtatious tone, "I'm putting you on speaker phone."

"Garcia, can you see if Mr Thomas, Mr Jenkins or Mr Black have there own swimming pool?" Hotch asked

"Sure thing. Just give me a minuet" Garcia replied, the tap tap tapping of her fingers on keys already sounding though the phone. "Nope, Im sorry my lovelies but none of these men have a pool. "

This surprised the team. They had been so sure.

"We must have made a mistake in the profile or something." Prentiss said, slightly resigned.

"Maybe its not the father, we were probably too narrow. It could be an uncle or some other relative." Rossi suggested.

"Garcia can you widen your search? Any close male relative in his early to mid 20's."

"I'll get on that right away, I'll send it through as soon as I'm done" Garcia affirmed before hanging up.

"Well there's not much more we can do tonight, we'll work on it first thing in the morning. JJ has booked us into a hotel down the street, go and get something to eat and some much needed sleep. We'll meet back here at 7:30." Hotch said in his commanding SSA Hotchner voice, which left absolutely no room for argument.

Wearily they all when to the hotel. It was a small but nice hotel, although most of the team didn't really notice or care. They were all exhausted, cases involving children always effected them more so than any other case.

Reid was just grateful that for once he wouldn't be sharing with Morgan like he usually did. The hotel only had a one double room and four single rooms, and he had been lucky enough to snag one of the single rooms. There was no way that he could share an room with Morgan and still hide the fact that he was sick.

Taking some Tylenol, Reid decided to skip dinner and go straight to bed.

He looked at the picture of Abigail from the file before he closed his eyes and drifted into a fitful sleep. This little girl now only had 5 days to live, tomorrow they had to nail this profile and they had to find this unsub.

**Thanks for reading. Reviews would be appreciated.**

**So the team knows, what will happen next?**

**Once again I apologies about the wait for this chapter, the next chapter should be up much faster. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all again for continuing to read my story. **

**If my plan works out this should be the second last chapter for this fanfiction. **

**Anyways, this *shits* about to get real. Reid is getting seriously sick and the team knows it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Criminal Minds, much to my dismay. And all mistakes are my own fault.**

**Onwards with the illness...**

**Chapter 4.**

Reid was having a restless night, waking up more than once in order to purge his already empty stomach. The waves of nausea were getting worse and so was his fever. He would either wake up drenched in sweat with his hair plastered to his forehead or he would wake up suddenly cold, and goose-bumps would break out over his even paler than usual skin. He felt so tired yet he could not fall asleep for more than a few minuets before waking up again, and no matter how may tablets he took, nothing would work to sooth the pain in his head or the ache he now felt in his lower back. And the cough that he developed racked his slender and fatigued frame. All in all Reid concluded he was not going to get much sleep that night, so around one O'clock in the morning he decided that the best use of his time was to focus on was the case.

Garcia had patched through all the files she had collected, she had even chosen to widen the search even more to cases as far back as three month. Every male relation in the area in the ages of 20 to 26 that have any connection to any drownings relating to young girls that are similar to the victimology. needless to say, the list was long. But even with a terrible flu and weak concentration with the solid profile and geographical profile it wasn't to hard to narrow it down. Although it took some time and plenty of Tylenol he had managed to narrowed it down to 10 people, but one name stood out to him in particular for some reason, call it his gut instinct, the file on a Mr Jeff Hardwood stood out from the others. But by this time it was already 5:30 in the morning and he could do nothing more as his exhausted body had finally given in to sleep.

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The while team minus Reid entered the Police station just before 7:30 and started looking over the lists of names that Garcia had sent. While they read the information they talked amongst themselves about what they would say to Reid when he came in. It was quickly decided that unless he looked 100% better today they would confront him about being sick and have Hotch order him to take some time off . They all knew why he was pushing himself so hard even when he was sick, other than the fact that he was Reid and thats just what he did, child cases were always much more serious and Reid hated the thought of sitting on the side lines when there was a young life to save but Reid was no use to then sick. They went back to the case at hand while they waited for Reid to come in.

They didn't have to wait long, a few minuets after 7:30 and Reid walked in, but he looked like hell. His hair was sticking up all over the place, he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, his eyes were glassy and there was a clear film of sweat developing over his forehead. Even the was he walked was effected with slow stiff movements coupled with the occasional wobble. Morgan, Prentiss and JJ rushed over to Reid as he swayed again, Morgan putting a firm grip on his shoulder for support while JJ felt his forehead with the back of her hand and Prentiss asked him if he was alright. He simply waved off there concern.

Hotch also walked over to him. "Reid we need to talk, you are obviously sick, and you are no use to us until your better. I want you to go back to the hotel and rest, you are off this..."

"Look Hotch, i was able to narrow down the search last night to 5 people, but i have a hunch that its this Jeff hardwood guy" Reid cut in before Hotch could finish, his voice low and strained. "Just let me call Garcia and have her check him out. Then we can talk." After a small nod from Hotch, Reid pulled out his phone and dialled Garcia's number.

"Hey Garcia, Its Reid, I was wondering if you could do a check for me on Mr Jeff Hardwood" Reid asked into the phone, not waiting for her usual greetings.

"Are you okay, you sound sick?"

"Im fine, can you do the search for me?"

"I'm on it, just give me a minuet here. Are you sure your okay?" she asked again, when she didn't get a reply she just went ahead with the search "Ok so this Jeff Hardwood guy is 21 and is an employee at that Mechanics shop you mentioned, and also he lives like five blocks down from it. His mother and father and younger brother child died in car crash 2 years ago, leaving himself as sole guardian of his now 6 year old sister, Julie Hardwood until she drowned approximately 4 months ago"

"Did she drown in their own back yard pool?"

"Yes my junior G-man, Jeff's house has a pool in the back yard, where Julie drowned, after Jeff went inside to answer the phone, leaving his little sister in the pool, when he came back outside, she was in floating in the pool, not breathing"He was charged for negligence and sentenced to 2 moths in jail, which ended a week before the first kidnapping victim. Do you think this is our man?"

"Yes" he replied simply. "Hotch its him"

"Are you sure?" Hotch questioned

"Positive", he affirmed handing over the file on Jeff Hardwood.

Hotch flipped though the file. He did seem to fit the profile perfectly. "Okay Reid, we will bring thing guy in, but your really sick, you need a doctor." Hotch said.

"Please Hotch, just let me wait here until you bring him in." Reid pleaded

"Fine, but you are going straight to the hospital as soon as we have him in custardy, your fevers too high." Hotch stated, even standing near him, he could fel the heat radiating off him in waves.

After a moments contemplation, Reid replied "Yeah, fine, just catch the unsub"

Morgan guided Reid to sit in a chair pushed against the far right wall of the Police Department and watched as his team discussed there plan of action, then exited the building in search for the kidnapper.

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After almost half an hour the team walked back through the doors. Morgan held a firm grip on Mr Hardwoods left shoulder while Prentiss had his right, they were hauling the man forwards with his hands cuffed behind him, Hotch and Rossi followed them in. Hotch carrying a young terrified looking girl. She looked so much like her photo; Abigail Weeks. Rossi followed Hotch over to where Abigail's parents where waiting in the break room, the relief was evident on her mother face when she saw her baby was safe and the smile on the young girls face when she was able to embrace with her mum after spending two days captive was priceless and made the job they did all the more worth wile. It wasn't often that they could save a life, so when they did, it was rewarding.

But not everything was going as smoothly as the mother and daughter reunion. Morgan and Prentiss were struggling to control and manoeuvre Mr Hardwood through the station and to the interrogation room that was situated towards the rear of the building. Mr Hardwood kept struggling, he twisted hard to his right, shoving his back against Morgan, his cuffed hands grabbing and un-sheathed the gun from Morgans belt. No one noticed, except for Reid who had a perfect view of what Hardwood was doing from his chair against the far right wall. Hardwood twisted again, this time pointing the gun towards Prentiss. Morgan and Prentiss were struggling to regain control over the man, neither yet to notice that a gun was pointed right at them. Reid slowly stood up while drawing his own weapon, the movement drew Hardwoods aim and attention towards Reid, but unfortunately he caught no one else's attention. Reid swayed a bit and his vision blurred violently, even standing slowly had bought on waves of nausea. He lifted his gun and tried to focus the best he could with the excessive pounding in his skull, then in one split second a single gun shot was fired, and a single bullet hit its target. The Police station was suddenly in an up roar, people had finally noticed the gun. But all Reid could focus on was the terrified screaming of a little girl as he slid down the cold hard wall behind him, his gun slipping from his grasp before he was pulled into a soothing darkness.

**I'm sorry about the cliff hanger (_no I'm not_), but I could not resist myself. Was this the disastrous consequences I mentioned in the synopses of the story? Will Reid make it? You will just have to wait till the next chapter! Which shall be up soon, I promise!**

**Please Review, it makes me so happy :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**So this is the final chapter! YAY!**

**DISCLAIMER: Still not mine, although all mistakes are.**

**Sorry this took me so long to update I was having writers block, but i made this final chapter very long to make up for it.**

**I would just like to say that I really appreciate everyone who has read this fanfiction and reviewed it, or followed it or favourited it. It makes me so dam excited and happy :D I was really hesitant to start writing. For my first ever fanfiction I have gotten such great support and feed back that I am compelled to continue writing. I was really nervous to post something that anyone in the world can read and judge, but every one was so nice and encouraging. And I want to let you know that when ever my emails would ping I would get really excited because it meant that one of you had just followed or favourited my little story and when i got reviews, I was so overwhelmed, even when all it said was '****_please continue'_**** or '****_g_****_reat chapter'_**** it made me so happy. At current over 1000 people have read something that I wrote. It is just so dam cool!**

**I'm sorry about my crazy little ramblings.**

**PS: I have no medical knowledge, so this is internet source, be kind if I have made a mistake.**

**Thank you guys so much and I hope you enjoy the final instalment, so with out further ado...**

**Chapter 5. **

**A genius with the flu.**

Morgan and Prentiss were the first to Reid's side. Hardwood long forgotten in there minds, as he was forcefully restrained by other officers behind them. They had heard the gun shot and looked over to see Reid collapse to the floor, instantly they thought the worst.

Morgan bent down next the Reid and began looking for the bullet wound. "Theres no blood." Morgan stated, slightly confused.

"He wasn't the one who got shot." Hotch who had just arrived at Reid's side informed them, gesturing over to where Hardwood had been restrained. Blood could be seen dripping down his hand from a gun shot just above his right wrist. "He was the shooter."

"Then why did he collapse?" Morgan asked, his concern for his friend evident.

"His fever has gotten worse. He is burning up." Prentiss said, her hand just resting on Reid's pale forehead.

"Thats probably the reason." Hotch confirmed, "He needs a hospital, Can someone call an ambulance?!" He shouted over his shoulder at a group of police officers.

For the first time Morgan really looked at Reid. He was exceptionally pale, his hair was plastered to his face a neck with sweat but he kept shivering and his breath was laboured. Even unconscious he looked exhausted, his eyes shadowed by dark bags and almost translucent eye lids. Suddenly the eyes behind the closed eye lids began to move frantically before they slowly opened revealing glassy blood shot eyes that didn't appear to be seeing anything. Reid started to mumble something incoherent and started to become panicked.

Prentiss sat next to Reid and started to stock her hand through this mattered hair, whispering kind words of confront to him. This seemed to relax him a bit and before Morgan knew it he was being gently directed aside while two paramedics assessed his friend. He hadn't even noticed them arrive.

"What's his name?" One of the medics questioned

"Um, sorry what?" Morgan asked, slightly taken off guard by the simple question.

"I asked what his name is." The medic clarified

"Reid. Spencer Reid." He answered

Turning his attention back to his patient the medic tried to get any sort of response form Reid. "Hello, Spencer. My name is Ash, can you open your eyes for me?" The medic, Ash, asked is a kind tone.

Reid opened his eyes and started feverishly looking around before he tried to escape the grip the other paramedic had on him, to little effect.

"Spencer, look at me, its ok. Calm down, we are trying to help you." Ash spoke quietly to Reid, but it didn't seem to work though. He kept struggling weakly in his attempt to free himself, his mumbling getting louder but no more coherent until he passed out, eyes rolling backwards showing only the whites of his eyes. The tow medics began talking to each other, using medical words that made no sense to Morgan what so ever.

"Oh god. Is he okay, what just happened?" Morgan demand, trying to push forward towards his again unconscious friend. Ash held him back. "Its okay, his fever is high so he is a bit out of it. We just need to get him to hospital and he will be fine." he assured Morgan before gently lifting Reid onto a stretcher and wheeling him towards the awaiting ambulance. "Will you be riding with us?" The other medic asked politely. Morgan nodded instantly before looking over to where Hotch stood. "We will meet you there." Was all Hotch was able to say before Morgan climbed into the ambulance beside Reid and the doors were closed.

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Morgan was already sitting in the hospital waiting room when Hotch, Rossi and Prentiss arrived.

"Any news yet?" Hotch asked as soon as he sat down.

"None yet. But they had to intubate him in the ambulance because he couldn't breathe. Oh god, it was horrible." Morgan answered. The last bit mumbled into his hands.

On hearing this Prentiss let out a small sob and collapsed into a chair of her own. Burying her face in her hands. She hated showing her emotions but this was Reid. The baby of the team, and he couldn't even breathe for himself. After a few deep breaths she was able to rebuild her wall.

"Where's JJ? Morgan asked, only now noticing that she hadn't arrived with the others.

"She's still in the press release from earlier. She has been informed and will come as soon as she can." Rossi answered.

"Someone should call Garcia." Morgan said, remembering how much she hated being left out of the loop when something bad happened.

"I can do it if you want." Hotch said kindly

"No, I'll call her." Standing up to move outside where phone calls were permitted.

"Your friendly neighbourhood Oracle of all things knowable and unknowable at your service" Garcia answered the phone in her usual way

"Hey baby girl."

"Morgan, is something wrong? Please tell me there isn't anything wrong. You caught the unsub right?"

"Yeah we did, but Reid is sick."

"Oh, is that all. So my junior G-man just needs some rest and he'll be right as rain." She said, even though the tone of Morgans voice told her it wasn't that simple.

"He's really sick. He has a high fever and he couldn't breath on his own." Morgan told her solemnly. He could hear her sold exclamation of 'Oh god' through the phone. "He will be alright baby girl, you know how he is. I'm sorry but i have to go now, I will call as soon as we know anything."

"Yeah, your right. Reid is stronger than we think. He will be fine." She said, trying to hind a small sob.

"Bye baby girl, I'll keep you in the loop." He promised before hanging up and returning to the waiting room.

When he arrived he noted that JJ was there now. She sat next to Prentiss, obvious tear tracks marked her face. Morgan re-took his seat. Both Hotch and Rossi were also sitting now. They sat in silence for some time, although no one could be sure how long, before a doctor made his way towards them.

"Are you here for Spencer Reid?" He asked, reading the name off his clip board.

Everyone stood up at the same time, but Hotch was first to speak. "Yes, we are his team" He said gesturing to the rest of the group. When the doctor frowned he continued. "I am **Doctor **Spencer Reid's medical proxy. You may speak in front of all of us." He emphasised the word 'Doctor'

"Okay, Well I'm Dr Reid's Doctor." He informed the team, "When Spencer arrived here he was extremely ill and needed immediate medical attention. He has developed Pneumonia. When he arrived here he was intubated due to the fact that he was having respiratory distress which is not a good sign. He also had a fever of 105.7 degrees, which is dangerously high. We were able to bring down his fever down from the danger zone using IV's and cold compressions. We have spencer on a dose of the antibiotic amoxicillin at the moment to help treat the pneumonia. His body has taken to the treatment well and we were able to take his off the ventilator and he now has a nasal cannula that is providing him with the oxygen his body needs. We expect to see signs of his recovery in the next two to three days. If we are able to keep his fever down, It is highly likely that he should make a full recovery. If everything goes according to plans he should be out of here before the end of the week, although he will feel tired for about two weeks after that and he should refrain from doing anything too physical."

"When can we see him?" Both Hotch and Morgan asked at once.

"His body needs the rest. But he is currently awake and asking after his team so I will allow it, you can all go in at once but only for a short while though. Ill sent a nurse to get you when he is ready. I will warn you though, he will be very tired and slightly confused. His fever is still high but were bringing it down. Just don't overwhelm him or I will have to ask you to leave. The patient comes first."

Everyone nodded in agreement. While they waited for the nurse, Morgan took the opportunity to relay Reid's condition to Garcia, who was ecstatic with the good news. Morgan hung up and rushed back inside, eager not to miss the nurse. Once he was back inside he didn't have to wait too long before a nice blond nurse showed them to the room which held Spencer.

The team took a look through the glass walls before they went inside. Reid was laying on the bed with his eyes closed, but his tense muscles and laboured breathing were clear signs that he wasn't asleep. He look much better than he did earlier at the police station, although he was still very pale. The slight noise of the door opening alerted Reid, his eyes sluggishly opening to see his team. A slight smile grew on his face. "Hey" he spoke quietly, his voice sounding strained.

JJ was the first to react. Rushing forwards to give Reid a small hug before sitting in the chair next to his bed and grabbing one of his hands in her own.

Emily followed suit, siting down on the opposite side of the bed.

While the men opted with standing at the foot of his bed. "Hey there pretty boy. You gave us quite the should have told us you were this sick." Morgan was the first of the team to find his voice. "Sorry, Didn't realise" Reid al but whispered back.

"We know that you were just focused on the case, but you could had made yourself worse. Heck, you could hardly breathe earlier. Pushing yourself when your sick is not a good idea. I don't care if you think you can catch the unsub, your health is important." Hotch said in a serious tone. When he noticed Reid adverting his eyes, he added "You did a damed good job today, you caught the unsub, Hardwood confessed. But if you try and shoot someone while you have a fever of 105.7, I'll have your arse" Hotch said this in a tone which let Reid know that Hotch was proud but be would get his but kicked if he tried this stunt again. This brought back the young geniuses smile. Although it quickly turned into a frown, "I didn't hurt anyone did I?" Reid questioned, suddenly worried. "Only that son of a bitch Hardwood, shot him in he arm." Morgan assured him. "It was a dam good shot, I have no idea how you managed it in your condition." When he got no reply Morgan looked over to where JJ was rubbing her hands through Reid's hair. His eyes were closed and this time he was definitely asleep. He singled to Hotch who had just realised the same thing. The team quietly left Reid to sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

By the end of the week Reid had been released from hospital and the team was on there was back home. Reid had begrudgingly agreed to some time off work when Hotch had threatened to make it a direct order.

On the Jet ride home Reid had taken the couch and was currently curled up fast asleep, snoring softly. Which Morgan and JJ both had videos of, something that Garcia was surely going to love. They would be landing in soon, but no one had the heart to wake Reid up, so they let him be. He just look so dam cute when he was asleep.

THE END :)

**Thank you again to everyone!**


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